- Bill Guerin, Chris MacFarland, and Pat Verbeek are all first-time finalists for the Jim Gregory GM of the Year Award
- All three GMs have teams still alive in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs
- Keep reading for what each GM did to land on the shortlist
The NHL announced the three finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award on Tuesday. For the first time in the award’s 17-year history, all three are first-time nominees.
Bill Guerin (Minnesota Wild), Chris MacFarland (Colorado Avalanche), and Pat Verbeek (Anaheim Ducks) make up this year’s field:
Guerin’s case starts and ends with one move. He grabbed Quinn Hughes from Vancouver on Dec. 12, and the Norris Trophy winner set franchise records for assists (48) and points (53) by a defenseman in just 48 games with Minnesota.
The Wild finished 46-24-12 and knocked off Dallas in the first round.
He also ran Team USA to Olympic gold. First Wild GM ever nominated for the award.
MacFarland built something scary in Denver. The Avalanche led the overall standings from Nov. 1 through the final day of the regular season, going 55-16-11 with 121 points.
That’s a franchise record, and it earned Colorado its fourth Presidents’ Trophy.
He retained Brock Nelson, signed Brent Burns in free agency, then went and got Nazem Kadri and Brett Kulak at the deadline. Kulak’s overtime winner Wednesday sent the Avs to the Western Conference Final. The trade deadline pickup ended the series.
Check out the video of that Game 5 comeback:
Verbeek might have the best story of the three. He took a Ducks roster loaded with kids and got them back to the playoffs for the first time since 2017-18. Anaheim went 43-33-6 with 92 points and scored a franchise-record 265 goals.
The top four scorers — Cutter Gauthier (22), Leo Carlsson (21), Beckett Sennecke (20), and Jackson LaCombe (25) — are all under 26. Verbeek added Chris Kreider and Mikael Granlund for veteran depth, then hired Joel Quenneville to coach them.
Eight years between playoff appearances is an eternity. Verbeek closed the gap in two seasons, posting double-digit point gains in both.
The winner will be announced at the NHL Awards in June.
